Software Piracy

Software Piracy

What is Software Piracy

The PC industry is just over 20 years old. In those 20 years, both the quality
and quantity of available software programs have increased dramatically.
Although approximately 70% of the worldwide market is today supplied by
developers in the United States, significant development work is occurring in
scores of nations around the world. But in both the United States and abroad,
unauthorized copying of personal computer software is a serious problem. On
average, for every authorized copy of personal computer software in use, at
least one unauthorized copy is made. Unauthorized copying is known as software
piracy, and in 1994 it cost the software industry in excess of US$15 billion.
Piracy is widely practiced and widely tolerated. In some countries, legal
protection for software is nonexistent (i.e., Kuwait); in others, laws are
unclear (i.e. Israel), or not enforced with sufficient commitment (i.e., the
PRC). Significant piracy losses are suffered in virtually every region of the
world. In some areas (i.e., Indonesia), the rate of unauthorized copies is
believed to be in excess of 99%.

Why do People Use Pirated Software?

          A major reason for the use of pirated software is the prices of the
REAL thing. Just walk into a CompUSA, Electronics Boutique, Computer City,
Egghead, etc and you will notice the expensive price tags on copies of the most
commonly used programs and the hottest games. Take the recent Midwest Micro
holiday catalogue for example and notice the prices. Microsoft Windows 95: $94,
Microsoft Office 95: $224, Microsoft Visual C++: $250, Borland C++: $213, Corel
Draw 7: $229, Corel Office Professional 7: $190, Lotus Smartsuite 96: $150,
Microsoft Flight Simulator95: $50, Warcraft 2: $30. The list goes on and on and
the prices for the programs listed above were only upgrade versions. Users of
the software listed above include anywhere from large companies like AT&T to
yourself, the average user at home.... [continues]

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